Escaped lab monkey finds new home at New Jersey animal sanctuary

Forrest spent a week on the run in southeast Mississippi last October. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. A rhesus macaque who spent a week on the lam in Mississippi in late October is finally settling into a new home over 990 miles from the original site of his escape. Popcorn Park Animal Refuge in Forked River, New Jersey, is now caring for Forrest, a young monkey from the Tulane National Primate Research Center in Covington, Louisiana. "The secret is out!" Popcorn Park posted to social media on December 2. Forrest's stressful saga began on October 28, 2025, when a transport truck crashed along Interstate 65 while carrying 21 monkeys from the Tulane Primate Research Center destined for a Florida biomedical research facility.